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Enhanced with UASP support (USB Attached SCSI Protocol), this USB 3.0 controller performs up to 70% faster than conventional USB 3.0 when paired with a UASP supported enclosure (Note: UASP requires a compatible operating system). Using a more efficient protocol than the traditional USB BOT (Bulk-Only Transport), UASP technology optimizes transfers by allowing multiple commands to be processed simultaneously, significantly increasing transfer speeds for less wait time on data transfers. See our UASP test results below for further details.

With a built-in SATA power connector, each USB port can provide up to 900mA of power to USB 3.0 devices (500mA for USB 2.0) by connecting to your computer power supply. For added versatility, the controller card is equipped with a standard profile bracket and includes a low-profile/half-height bracket for installation in small form-factor computers.

Improved Performance with UASP

UASP is supported in Windows® 8, Server 2012 and Linux kernel 2.6.3 or later. In testing UASP performed with up to a 70% faster read / 40% faster write speed over traditional USB 3.0 at peak performance.

At the same peak in testing, UASP also showed up to an 80% reduction in required processor resources.

The maximum throughput of this card is limited by the bus interface. If used with PCI Express Gen 1.0 enabled computers, the max throughput is 2.5 Gbps. If used with PCI Express Gen 2.0 enabled computers, the max throughput is 5 Gbps.

Manuals

Data Sheets

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Buy

The USB expansion cards derive power from the PCI or PCI Express slot on the motherboard. When high-powered USB devices are connected to the USB expansion card, the power provided by the slot may not be enough to power all of the devices and you should connect additional sources of power. When you troubleshoot issues, you should connect an additional source of power.

Symptoms that you are experiencing power-related issues include certain devices not working correctly, not all of the devices working at the same time, and certain devices not working at all.

Examples of low-powered USB devices include USB mice, keyboards, and flash drives. An example of a high-powered USB device is an external hard drive that does not have an external source of power.

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How to

In Device Manager, under the appropriate heading, confirm that your expansion card is listed and that there isn't an exclamation mark next to it. For example, a USB controller card would be under Universal Serial Bus controllers.

Your expansion card is listed according to the name of the chipset. To determine the name of the chipset of your expansion card, navigate to www.StarTech.com and look on the Technical Specifications tab for your product.

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When you troubleshoot issues with a USB controller card, there are some quick tests that you can complete to rule out potential problems. You can test to make sure that the following components are working correctly and are not the source of the issue:

USB cables

USB devices

USB controller card

To test your setup components, try the following:

Use the USB cable, device, and controller card in another setup to see if the problem is with the components or the setup.

Use a different USB cable, device, and controller card in your setup to see if the problem persists. Ideally, you should test a component that you know works in another setup.

When you test your cables, it is recommended that you do the following:

Test each cable individually.

Use short cables when you are testing.

When you test the USB device and controller card, it is recommended that you do the following:

Press the Windows key + R, type devmgmt.msc, and press Enter to open Device Manager. Check to see if your device is listed under Universal Serial Bus controllers.

Quality of Product

Tell us what you think of this product.

1 - 5 of 5 Reviews

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(5 stars)Excellent Card!

By: 0xFF on 08/09/2015

Have used this card since March 2013 - been working great for 2 years and 5 months. No problems. I use USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 devices on it all the time, plus a variety of different flash drives that are mostly USB 2.0. It's fast with the USB 3.0 stuff, and does great with the 2.0 as well. Would get this card again in a heartbeat. Using it under Win 7 x64 in a PCI-e x8 slot (with x4 link).

Quality of Product (5/5)

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(5 stars)It just works!!!

By: JDivider on 01/01/2015

After careful consideration, I purchased a different USB 3.0 card, primarily because of the price. It didn't work so I returned it and purchased this Startech card. This card is Windows 8.1 compatible and worked as soon as I installed it. I did not install with the included CD, I just downloaded the most recent drivers from Startech.com. MicroCenter will match online prices so look into that. Overall, it just works!

Quality of Product (5/5)

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(5 stars)Works Great!

By: TedL on 11/01/2014

Easy to install, runs perfectly. Allowed the four ports in the front and powered too.

Quality of Product (5/5)

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(5 stars)Rock solid Windows 7 support

By: quondam on 09/27/2014

This card uses the TI (Texas Instruments) USB controller rather than the NEC one which almost everything else has. I got two cards with NEC chips in, and my experience with their Windows 7 drivers was very frustrating. These worked first time and flawlessly since.

Quality of Product (5/5)

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(5 stars)Great for Linux Mint

By: DuaneD45 on 04/12/2014

I'm running Linux Mint on a Dell Inspiron Core 2 Duo. I bought this USB 3.0 express card about three weeks ago through Amazon with the recommended (by Amazon) SATA power splitter and extension. It came with a driver CD which included some legacy drivers for Red Hat and Suse Linux. I was very pleased to find out (Googled it) that Linux has had NATIVE (built in) support for USB 3.0 for several years. I went to the Bios setup after physical installation in case the card needed some detection and exited it with Save. Tested it with my USB 3.0 2-TB hard drive and USB 3.0 has worked fine without further configuration. It would be helpful if (1) the packaging or product description indicated native Linux compatibility and details of power requirements and (2) there was a step-by-step description for Linux installation in the user manual, including changing the alternate end plate and whether the Bios setup must be opened.

Quality of Product (5/5)

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4 Port SuperSpeed USB 3.0 PCI Express Card with UASP - SATA Power

Product ID: PEXUSB3S4

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